Zesty Pesto

Last Friday I was in the mood for something quick, easy, and meaty for dinner, and decided to stop by the Reading Terminal Market during my lunch break to pick up some sausages and a nice big ribeye steak. So, since sprinkling steak with salt and pepper and cooking it up to a nice medium-rare in a sauté pan doesn’t require much of a recipe, I wanted to share with you the recipe for the delicious topping I made for it instead.

Earlier in the summer I’d gotten a cute little basil starter in a mason jar as a baby shower favor, and since then it has thrived. So I thought now was a good a time as any to reap the rewards of my crop (okay so, yeah basil requires little to no effort haha). I decided to whip up some pesto sauce, having been inspired by a similar recipe in our new cookbook (which I raved about last week). In her recipe, Melissa uses walnuts instead of the classic parmesan cheese in order to get that nutty, rich flavor, while keeping it paleo/healthier. She also uses some parsley, which I found interesting as I’d never considering mixing basil with another herb for pesto. However, I didn’t have parsley but I do have tons of mint (because its a weed, and if you aren’t careful it will take over your garden! lesson learned.) So, with a few small alterations, I give you some zesty pesto which we’ve already enjoyed on top of steak, as a dip for carrot sticks, and as a sauce on top of spaghetti squash and zucchini ribbons. If the world is your oyster, I say put some pesto on it!

You will need:

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cup (packed) basil leaves

1/4 cup (packed) mint leaves

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flake

Heat your oven or toaster oven to 350°. Place your peeled garlic into a small foil pouch and drizzle with the 1/2 tsp olive oil. loosely pinch the pouch closed and roast it for 8-10 minutes, until soft and fragrant.

Place your roasted garlic in a food processor with remaining ingredients and puree until well blended with a consistent texture. Store in a sealed container or jar in the refrigerator and enjoy!

I’ve been eating my pesto all week long– I can’t get enough of it! Your recipe looks wonderful. I like that idea of swapping out parmesan for walnuts. Pesto should be healthy, but it’s so easily not! If you like eggs, I suggest making an egg sandwich with pesto spread in. Too good to be true!